Blast furnace stove gas-port and burner nozzle connection



Feb. 9, 1960 c. E. GENOVESE BLAST FURNACE STOVE GAS-PORT AND BURNER NOZZLE CONNECTION Filed Oct. 1, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 MW mm A E Z 4 Y Wui 2 W I w H 2. 7. j g m w d M 4/ v 535%. l 17 i 13 A w -135 m W 1W; 2 2 \x\ f M 3 i 9 A his Attorney.

Feb. 9, 1960 c. E. GENOVESE 2,924,269

BLAST FURNACE STOVE GAS-PORT AND BURNER NQZZLE CONNECTION Filed Oct. 1, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE/VTOR CHARLES E. GE/VOVESE,

his Attorney.

Feb. 9, 1960 cs. E. GENOVESE 2,924,269

BLAST FURNACE STOVE GAS-PORT AND BURNER NOZZLE CONNECTION Filed Oct. 1, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 3 I IZIFI" INVENTOR CHARLES E. ae/vovess,

his A flamey.

United States Patent BLAST FURNACE STOVE GAS-PORT AND BURNER NOZZLE CONNECTION Charles E. Genovese, Chicago, Ill., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 1, 1956, Serial No. 613,295

2 Claims. (Cl. 158--7) This invention relates to blast furnace stoves and is directed to the problem of providing a gas-tight connection between the gas-port of a stove and the nozzle of a retractible gas burner for heating the stove refractory. More particularly it relates to an improved gas-port and burner nozzle connection in the form of a water-cooled gas-seal which is comprised of a pair of water-cooled annular housings respectively mounted on the burner nozzle and the gas-port. In a manner to be described, the housings are provided with cooperating parts which move into abutting engagement with each other to form the improved connection of this invention upon movement of the burner from its retracted position to an operative firing position relative to the blast stove port.

Blast furnace stoves are operated on alternate air blowing and gas heating periods respectively, for example, of two and four hour intervals. During the air blowing operation, the stove gas-port is covered by a door while air is heated by circulation over hot refractory in the stove to provide the hot air blast for a blast furnace. At the end of the air blowing operation, the door closure for the gas-port is removed and the retractible nozzle of a gas burner is moved from a retracted position to an operative firing position in which it is connected with the gas-port and delivers a burning mixture of blast furnace gas to the stove for circulation over the refractory therein. After heating of the refractory in this manner, the burner nozzle is retracted and the door closure is placed over the gas-port to thus complete a stove I operating cycle. As a result of these operations, the connection between the burner nozzle and stove gas-port is subjected to temperature variations over a wide range and thermal expansion and contraction incident to such temperature changes cause warpage of a nature which interferes with obtaining an effective gas-seal about the gas-port during the firing operation. While various forms of connections which compensate for misalignment due to thermal warpage have been proposed, such proposals have not proved entirely effective and the problem of obtaining an effective gas-seal about the gas-port during a firing operation continues to be troublesome.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide an improved connection for joining a blast stove burner nozzle and stove gas-port in gas sealing engagement with each other and which overcomes the problems incident to thermal warpage as a result of extreme tem-.

perature changes. In accordance with the principles of this invention, the connection between the burner nozzle and gas-port is effected by a pair of water-cooled housings which are moved into abutting and gas-sealing engagement with each other upon movement of the burner nozzle from its retracted to its operative firing position. The invention also contemplates improvements according to which the water-cooled housings form an enclosed annular chamber for a sealing ring which is compressed between the housings upon movement of the nozzle to its firing position.

come apparent from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational and vertical sectional view of a hot blast stove burner and gas-port which are provided with the improved gas-sealing connection of this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the parts of the connection in gas-sealing engagement with each upon movement of the burner nozzle to an operative firing position relative to the gas-port; Figure 3 is an enlarged end elevational view of the water-cooled housing for the stove gas-port;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3; p

Figure 5 is an enlarged end elevational view of the water-cooled housing for the burner nozzle; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 5.

Figure 1 shows a conventional arrangement of a retractible gas burner 1 and a gas-port 2 opening into a hot blast stove 3 for supplying a blast of hot air to a blast furnace. The gas-port 2 is defined by a collar 4 which is secured to the stove shell and has an outwardly turned flange 5 about its outer edge. The burner 1 is disposed in axial alignment with the port 2 and is shown in its retracted position relative thereto. It comprises an inner conduit 6 which is supplied with air from a motor driven fan 7, a concentric outer conduit 8 which is connected with a source of blast furnace waste gas, and a nozzle in the form of a sleeve 9 for connection of the burner 1 with the gas-port 2 in a'manner to be described.

Connection of theburner 1 and the gas-port 2 is effected by movement of the sleeve 9 to the right as viewed in Figure 1 and, for this purpose, it has a bolted connection at .10 to the outer end of the conduit 8 which has a slide mounting on a support 11 for movement of the burner 1 by a fluid pressure motor 12 between the retracted position shown in Figure 1 and an operative firing position relative to the port 2. In accordance with conventional practice, the burner 1 may be stationary and the sleeve 9 may have a telescopic mounting (not shown) on the outer conduit 8 for movement between retracted and firing positions. In the operative firing position of the burner 1, sealing rings 14 and 15 on the outer-end of the nozzle 9 and on the gas-port flange 5 have sealing engagement with each other as shown in Figure 2.

The sealing rings 14 and 15 are in the form of hollow metal housings of annular shape which are water-cooled to prevent thermal warpage. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the ring 15 is fabricated from rings which are welded together and has a flange 16 about its outer edge which is provided with openings 17 for the reception of bolts 18 (see Figure 1) for securing it to the gas-port flange 5. Inwardly of its flange 16, the body of the ring 15 is shaped to provide an annular chamber 19 through which water is circulated by way of inlet openings 20 and outlet openings 21 which extend through the flange 16 at the lower and upper edges of the ring 15 as viewed in Figure 3. The ring 15 has a flat surface 22 inwardly of the flange 116 which is cooled by the water circulating through the sureshaman "over the gas-port 2 when the'stove is used for an aii'bldwifi'g operation;

The ring 14 is cast integrally with the sleeve 9 in the rm ft n amularhmsins a o t it .outer. dge which i ,snaiiedltd providelaii jannular chamber; 26 through wliichrcdoling water is] circulated by way ,of inlet open,

ings, 27 "and outlet openings 28 which are, arranged as sh'ownin', Figure 5. The outer wall of'the chamber 26jis shaped to ,provide anannula'rsurface 29"]which facesjt'owardlthe gas-port iiiiglSflfr a purpose to be described and has a pair of spacedconcentric inner and outer rings 30, and 31- adjacent, its radially ,outer edge which project axially outwardly with respect to the surface. 29 jforengag'ehientwith the gas-port annular surface 22 in a mannerto be; described A, sealing ring, 32 ,,0f acompressible,.materiaIQsuCh as natural or syn warpage as the result of thermal contraction and expansion is thi'iseffectivelyeliminated.

- said housings for circulating cooling water therethrough,

thetic rubber, neoprene, (or ,other similar material,

mounted in the spaeebetween the rings30 and,,31; The ring 32' has an axial dimension such thatitprojects axially beyond, the outer surfaces 33 of the, rings 30 and 3l a subestshown.ifi-Figi1re 6.v It has abonded connection with an, aniidlar'.metal .mounting plate 34 which is positioned against the annular surface. 35. be

tween thejrings 30, and 31. The. innerring 30 has a plurality, of slots 36 inwhich clamps 37 are secured by bolts 38 .forclampinglthe mounting plate 34 against m'oveinntbut of the position shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Upon movement I offtheburner 1 from its retracted.-

position tohits operative firing position, the burner nozzlf 9 is; connected with the gas-port 2 .by movement of the, rings, 14 .and into abutting and gas-sealing engagement with each'other. The relative arrangement ofthe parts of the rings; 14 and-15 in. this operative firing position is illustrated in the fragmentary sectional view of Figure 2., As shownin .Figure 2, the surfaces, 33 on .thering's :30, and. .31 I move into abutting engagement with the, surface 22.,onthe gas-port ring 15 to and a resilient sealingiwringflfixedto one of said housings and extending in anjaxial direction therefrom, the other of said housings, having a flat annular surface aligned with said ring and adapted to be engaged thereby form an annular chamber 41 in which thesealing ringa 32 is compressedlagainst the surface,;22,. thearnonnt of compression of..the ring .32 being determined by the extent .tofwhich. it projects beyond the ring, surfaces 33 in its uncompressed state. Radially inwardly with respect to the sealing chamber 41, the nozzle ring surface .29 ,has. abuttingIengagement'with thesurface 24 on ;the gas-port. ring-projection 23 to provide a seal againstradial leakageofthe burning gases being injected by the burner 1 into. the blast stove gas-port2. Attention isparticularly. directed'to the fact that the seal provided by engagement of the surfaces 24, and 29 is displaced in an axial direction with respect to ,the seal provided by engagement, of, the surface 33 on the in ner ring 30 with theasurfacefil on the gas-port ring 15... As a .consequence,,gas leakage into the sealing.

chamber 41 has its movement bafiled by these two seals and thus protects the sealingring 32 against theaction of a direct radial, blastsof leaking gases. In addition, the gas'which does escape into the chamber 41"is cooled by the surfaces of the water-cooled parts over which it travels in movementto the chamber 41. The sealing ring 32 in the cham ber 41; is thus-subject only a relatively light static pressure from the moving gas and is not subject to the maximum temperature of such gases.

The water flowing through the chambers 19 and 26 of course is elfective to maintain the temperaturesof the ring parts in sealing and abut-ting engagement with each other at a relatively, low temperature at all times andsaid. housings having anannular projection aligned with 'bafiling action on escaping gases before they reach'said said second named-surface fortengagement.therewithj said flange and said projection'cooperatingto provide a ring.

.2. In a hot-blast stove havingja gas-portand, a re-] tractible burner nozzlernovable tofand from an operable firing position relative to said gas-porn'the combination therewith of a sealing device comprising a pair of annular metal housings fixed respectivelytothe' stove and nozzle and water inletand outlet connections to both said housings: for,circulating, cooling' water there throughyone'of said housingsjhavingja flat annular outer surface and an annular jaxially extending projection lo:

cated radially inwardly of saidfsurface, the other of said housings having an axially extendingcompressible seal-T ing 1-ing,axially extending flailges' on opposite sides of said sealing ring, ,said sealing ring having an axial length such that it projectslaxial'ly beyond saidla'stwnamedf flanges, and faiflat, annular surface "located radially in-I.

wardly of said flanges, said ring and flanges being aligned with said first named, surface for engagement therewith, said projection being aligned withfl said, second namedfl surface for engagementth'erewith, said ring being adapted to providea substantiallygas-tight seal (against gases escaping between .said' port and nozzle, said-projection. and, the inner one .off'saidflahges being adaptedto provide a bathing, action on. gasesbefore they reach {said References Cited in the file 'of'ithis patent UNITEDMSTA TES PATENTS Jones; Jam-8, 1884 crewman; Mar. 18119531" 

